Chuck Berry
The Anthology
Label:  Chess 
Date:  6/27/2000
Length:  0:00
Format:  2CD
Genre:  Rock; Rock & Roll
  Category:  rock
    Track Listing:
      1.  
      		 Maybellene    
      2.  
      		 Wee Wee Hours    
      3.  
      		 Thirty Days    
      4.  
      		 You Can't Catch Me    
      5.  
      		 Downbound Train    
      6.  
      		 No Money Down    
      7.  
      		 Brown Eyed Handsome Man    
      8.  
      		 Roll over Beethoven    
      9.  
      		 Too Much Monkey Business    
      10.  
      		 Havana Moon    
      11.  
      		 School Days    
      12.  
      		 Rock & Roll Music    
      13.  
      		 Oh Baby Doll    
      14.  
      		 Sweet Little Sixteen    
      15.  
      		 Guitar Boogie    
      16.  
      		 Reelin' and Rockin'    
      17.  
      		 Johnny B. Goode    
      18.  
      		 Around and Around    
      19.  
      		 Beautiful Delilah    
      20.  
      		 House of Blue Lights    
      21.  
      		 Carol    
      22.  
      		 Jo Jo Gunne    
      23.  
      		 Memphis    
      24.  
      		 Sweet Little Rock & Roller    
      25.  
      		 Little Queenie    
      26.  
      		 Almost Grown    
      27.  
      		 Back in the U.S.A.    
      28.  
      		 Do You Love Me    
      29.  
      		 Betty Jean    
      30.  
      		 Childhood Sweetheart    
      31.  
      		 Let It Rock    
      32.  
      		 Too Pooped to Pop    
      33.  
      		 I Got to Find My Baby    
      34.  
      		 Don't You Lie to Me    
      35.  
      		 Bye Bye Johnny    
      36.  
      		 Jaguar and Thunderbird    
      37.  
      		 Down the Road a Piece    
      38.  
      		 Confessin' the Blues    
      39.  
      		 I'm Talking About You    
      40.  
      		 Come On    
      41.  
      		 Nadine    
      42.  
      		 You Never Can Tell    
      43.  
      		 Promised Land    
      44.  
      		 No Particular Place to Go    
      45.  
      		 Dear Dad    
      46.  
      		 I Want to Be Your Driver    
      47.  
      		 Tulane    
      48.  
      		 My Ding-A-Ling    
      49.  
      		 Bio    
    Additional info: | top

      By all rights, Chuck Berry should be walking on red carpets and playing palaces around the world. Of course, for various, often unseemly reasons, this is not the case in 2000 and it's a shame. In a weird way, Berry's legacy--his influence and his innovation--often obscures the brilliance of the music itself. He didn't just pave the way for rock & roll's domination, he also created some of the genre's best songs regardless of historical impact. With an arsenal that included slashing boogie-woogie-inspired guitar leads, a forceful, convincing vocal delivery, and an incredible knack for lyrical flow, Berry set awfully high standards for rock. If the three-disc Chess Box is more than you're looking for, this 50-song, two-CD set gives you all of the high points (except for the Christmas songs), all nicely remastered in a way that restores the music's rhythmic intensity. Berry's career enjoyed many peaks: his earliest triumphs from the mid-1950s proved the appeal of his country-and-R&B hybrid; in 1958 he delivered an astonishing run of creative and commercial successes from "Johnny B. Goode" to "Carol"; in 1964, after watching from prison as the Beatles jump-started their career on his engine, Berry returned with a vengeance, reeling off "Nadine," "You Never Can Tell," "Promised Land"--each one a gem--along with other ferociously energetic romps like "Dear Dad." Berry's music is all about momentum, and his brilliantly building, universally resonant three-minute narratives fused with the driving music to powerful effect, churning into eternity like the locomotive in "Let It Rock." "Can't stop the train, gotta let it roll on," he sings, and you can actually feel the train bearing down on you. --Marc Greilsamer